Justice News

Federal Prisoner and Fiancée Plead Guilty to Running an inmate Taxi Service

ATLANTA – Federal inmate Deldrick D. Jackson and his fiancée Kelly M. Bass pleaded guilty to conspiring to assist inmates to escape from the United States Penitentiary in Atlanta, Georgia. Jackson and Bass conspired to provide escaped inmates with transportation to and from USP Atlanta in exchange for a fee.

“Although hard to believe, federal inmate Deldrick Jackson and his fiancée Kelly Bass ran a for-profit taxi service that transported escaped federal prisoners to local hotels and restaurants,” said U. S. Attorney John Horn. “Their guilty pleas represent the end of the road for their scheme.”

“These guilty pleas in federal court sends a very clear message that those assisting in the escape of federal inmates and the movement of contraband items into these prisons will be facing federal charges along with the inmates involved. Much of the criminal activities seen in this investigation relied largely on the federal inmates’ access to illegally obtained smart phones, a fact that the FBI has seen before in other similar cases. The FBI will continue to work with its various law enforcement partners in ensuring that inmates stay in prison and cell phones and other contraband items stay out,” said David J. LeValley, Special Agent in Charge, FBI Atlanta Field Office

According to U.S. Attorney Horn, the charges, and other information presented in court: the U.S. Penitentiary in Atlanta, Georgia, (“USP Atlanta”) is a medium-security federal prison for male inmates operated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons. USP Atlanta also has a detention center for pre-trial inmates and a satellite prison camp for minimum-security male inmates.

In May 2010, Jackson was convicted in federal court of conspiring to distribute cocaine and conspiring to launder money. From July 2016 to April 2017, Jackson was assigned to USP Atlanta. Prison visitation records showed that Bass is Jackson’s fiancée.

From approximately November 2016 to April 2017, Jackson and Bass conspired to provide escaped inmates with transportation from USP Atlanta to nearby restaurants, hotels, or residences in exchange for a fee. For example, on January 28, 2017, Bass picked up Jackson and other escaped inmates from outside USP Atlanta, drove them to a nearby hotel, and hours later, returned Jackson and the other inmates to USP Atlanta. The escaped inmates paid Jackson and Bass for the rides via a cell phone payment app. Financial records show that Bass received approximately $4,000 from accounts associated with USP Atlanta inmates or the inmates’ families.

On April 13, 2017, Jackson again escaped from USP Atlanta, after which Bass picked him up and drove him to a local fast food restaurant. Soon afterward, law enforcement officers stopped Bass’s SUV and arrested Bass and Jackson. After searching the SUV, officers recovered two cell phones, 83 packs of cigarettes, and eight bottles of Canadian whiskey.

On April 25, 2017, a federal grand jury indicted Deldrick D. Jackson, 41, of DeKalb County, Georgia, and Kelly M. Bass, 38, also of DeKalb County, on conspiratorial and substantive escape charges. Bass pleaded guilty to both counts of the Indictment.

On May 16, 2017, Jackson pleaded guilty to one count of conspiring to escape from federal custody.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation and Atlanta Police Department are investigating this case.